Place: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Billolick:

4.35/5 rDev +8.5%

This is a large white box of a place, in a mall/shopping/highway kind of area, real close to rt. 290, just north of Wusta. Huge selection of wine, and an equally impressive selection of fine beer from near and far. They have got the goods. Locals, regionals, imports etc etc, they have all their beer bases well covered. Cases of macros all the way to the left, the good stuff takes up an entire, huge row, 2nd from the left. Also coolers with cold brew in the rear, including growlers from Berkshire Brewing. A nice feature was a display they had up front, showing beers that were being recomended for consumption with various types of food. This type of beer/food education I have never seen before in a liquor store. A very cool touch. They also have a newsletter, with wine and beer info/education. I highly advise making this a stop on your beer travels.

If you have the unfortunate circumstance of living in or visiting Worcester this place will soften the blow. Great selection and decent prices. A large warehouse store vibe that's a bit on the dumpy side. The plaza and neighborhood kind of dictate that though. The employees I saw were all distant and unfriendly. Judging by the beer selection someone working there is on their A game though. Bottom line...A dumpy place in the ghetto with an A+ beer department. I would avoid it at night.

I grew up in the Worcester area and I remember always going in here with my dad when he wanted to pick up some wine. I just discovered not too long ago that they have a pretty damn good selection of beer, as well. The place looks like a big warehouse with big, wide aisles. Most of the store has wine and liquor but the 2 aisles on the left as well as a cooler section in the back are dedicated to beer. The left-most aisle has mostly BMC products, hard lemonade, and twisted tea, but there gets to be a great selection of Sam Adams and Wachusett beers toward the end. The next aisle over has more craft 6 packs and all of their bombers. I was pretty impressed with their selection, especially when it came to their offerings from California. I wished I could have found more local beers (eg. Wormtown, Jack’s Abbey, Clown Shoes), but I can’t complain. Prices are pretty competitive, and I’m not sure if the staff is helpful or not. The only person working there that I could see was a cashier way at the front of the store, so there aren’t people readily available to ask questions.

Austin Liquors has a really nice selection of craft beer at reasonable prices. If you’re in Worcester, you should check it out.

Located in a large strip mall along Route 9. This is a large store with lots of wine, liquor, BMC and a decent amount of craft beer. As others have mentioned, a small amount is in coolers and a larger amount of it on the shelves. You can find local stuff like CBC, Mayflower and Barrington Brewing. Other stuff from quite a few us craft brewers including the newer to Mass, Boulevard, which was nice to see. Some beers from Europe and other regions as well. For those coming from a different state, passing through Worcester, it is worth spending some of your time and money here.

The atmosphere initially turned me off, but I rebounded once inside looking at what is a pretty good selection. My biggest complaint is the very small amount of cooled storage dedicated to craft. Also, the Be Hoppy that I was targeting to buy was fairly old for being in the same town as the brewery. I can't entirely fault the store for this though--it's a larger issue than that. Anyways, this store is worth hitting if you're in the area but I certainly wouldn't drive out of my way for it. If you're going to drive there are options that aren't too much further and in my opinion incrementally better.

For some reason I have driven by this place and have never stopped. Had a few minutes today so I figured I'd give it a try. My first thought when walking in is "boy, this place is big". Wine, liquor, and beer everywhere. Nice wide aisles to walk down. The first thing I came to was the Import/large format/warm storage area. Pretty decent selection here. Lots of locals and New England brews. Shot straight for the CBC and Maine Beer Co.. Plenty of Sixpoint cans, grabbed a four of Diesel. The other side of that aisle and the next aisle left wew loaded with mostly macros and malternatives. Straight back at the back of the store were quite a few coolers loaded with beer. In front of the coolers were quite a few offerings from the Boulevard Smokestack Series. Pretty nice place, Not the Taj Mahal by any means. Rather clean. The peolple working seemed helpful and polite, although I didn't pick their brains. Selection was great. Seemed as if they had a little bit from a lot of breweries. I did see a few older/discontinued brews that have been sitting there for a while. Prices seemed pretty much inline with other stores I've visited in Mass. Overall, not too bad. I would definitely visit again.

I went here on my week vacation that I spent in Massachusetts. I read excellent reviews about this place; it wasn't too far from where I was staying, I thought I should check it out. I walked in with a cart knowing I'm going to spend a lot of money. What a understatement, I was very let down. I thought this was going to be beer heaven; did I miss the exit somewhere?

I look around and I usually know where they keep the beer in every store. They a shelf of bombers but there wasn't an impressive amount. They have few fridge doors with some bombers and off to the side they have another section of limited cold six packs.

The only impressive thing about the store was they had beers labeled from different countries. I thought that was pretty neat but they, as well, were limited. I didn't walk out emptied handed I bought a prepackaged growler of Ten Penny Ale by Olde Burnside Brewing Company a bomber of Gritty McDuff's Brewing co's Bitter Ale and a six pack of Sea Hag IPA by New England Brewing Co. and it came out to about twenty three dollars. I would have spent a lot more if I found some gems.

This place seemed a bit overrated and I would say it's not any more than average. Why such the great reviews? I don't know, maybe I'm missing something. This would be a place that's convenient to live by but not worth it if its out of the way.

This is the place to go if you are looking for specialty brews in Worcester. With an ever expanding list of beers, you can always count on something new. New ownership, and new store layout is much more navigable. Broken down by foreign and domestic, starting with domestic micro 6 packs, working through 22oz bombers and 750ml. Then starting in England and working east into Asia. Ending with a large section devoted to Belgian Specialties (Chimay, St. Bernardus, Delirium, Allagash, Ommegang, and Duvel, to name just a few) The new staff continues the tradition of great service and brew suggestions. Specialty orders are always available, so if they don't have what you are looking for; they can have it in a matter of days. Go find something you haven't tried at Austin Liquors, worth the trip!

Will continue the streak of those from Worcester and agree this is the best selection in Central MA for miles. Yes, I can go a little out of my way to another reputable store but Austin has a great supply and is easy to reach when you want good variety. I am there every other week or so and almost every time I have been in a member of the staff approaches me and offers help or suggestions which is great because I always like to know if there is a particular fave I haven't heard of. Just recently the Worcester store got new lighting above each aisle and brightened up the place a lot, making it much easier to peruse the beer aisle specifically.

I love visting Austin Liquors when I can. This place has it all, huge warehouse atmosphere, impressive selection and decent sales.

The place has a rather knowledgeable staff. If you want are in the aisles they will ask if you need help or provide recommendations. If you say "browsing", they let you do your thing or if you ask for help they provide a wide arrange of suggestions based on brand/style/or price. Their beer guy "Pat" provides a variety of suggestion labels through out based on his favorite beers or based on value.

The selection ir great they offer bombers, 750ml corked bottles, six packs, 12 oz, 24 oz, growlers, 12 packs, cases, 30 packs and everything in between. They will always have a 6 or 12 on sale for a great value (Wachusett or Sam Adams for $12 a 12 pack).

Prices are standard at worst, and usually a dollar or two cheaper than the smaller places. Give Austin Liquors a look for some excellent craft beer if you are in the area it has macros, it has micros, it has imports and all it really needs is your business.

I live not too far from Austin, and love it. Their selection is fantastic, as many here have noted. I don't have much to add to what others have said.

However, I do have a negative to add. For the most part, their staff who roam the aisles are helpful. Unfortunately, not all their cashiers are familiar with the concept of bottle conditioning, and as a result, have had (on many occasions) the cashier flip the bottle all around looking for a bar code to scan while I stand and watch in horror. Small quibble, though. Only gotta wait a couple days to drink it.

you won't find anything better in worcester. while i still drive an extra 20 minutes for a slightly better selection, Austin can hold it's own, and i still visit when i happen to be in the area. they have a very good selection of 22oz and 750's, but since there is next to no 12oz singles selections, i usually take that long drive when i'm looking to try something new. i did manage to find alesmith speedway stout in both the bottle aisle and (very suprisingly) the cold selection, this was one i had looked for the last 4 times visiting my other regular store. speaking of the cold selection, while they did have some good choices in there (alesmith, stone, a few others), there was way too much room dedicated to the common brews i can get everywhere. i guess i can't complain though, everyone has to make money somehow.

Austin Liquors is the seat of good beer at retail in Worcester, and pretty much always has been. There's some subtle differences between their two stores, though, and the Gold Star Blvd. store is basically the better establishment for most purposes.

The "warm" beer aisle is plentiful. You have the usual array of New England beers, ranging from your Harpoons to your Magic Hats, before the selection gives way to the finer craft beers from other parts of the country: Great Divide, Dogfish Head, and the like. There is an excellent selection of 22 oz. bombers. Plenty of imports as well, ranging from bottle-conditioned english beers to a good selection of Belgian beers. Austin almost always has some "3 for $XX.xx" specials going with the bombers and Belgians, and you can actually get some pretty good bargains on some fairly complex beers. It's pretty cool that they encourage experimentation like that. And they finally dispensed with those light bulbs right on top of the shelves...

A small selection is naturally available in the coolers. Some bombers, some Belgians, some sixers of craft beers, and growlers of Berkshire, Burnside, and sometimes Paper City. The flaw here is that the cold selection is relatively small, and virtually never rotates to bring in different stuff. Choices are limited if you're popping in for something on your way to the BYOB restaurant.

I had spent the day out at the Cape with FirstMan and my sister, made a frantic stop in Braintree to get my sister an assload of stuff for her apartment at Bed, Bath and Beyond...

****Editorial aside: One thing the West Coast does very, very well is make it incredibly easy to get off the highway, do some shopping, and get back on the highway. The East Coast does not do this. It's difficult enough just to stay on the right fucking highway, much less get off and back on, that shopping becomes something you have to dedicate a day to, rather than stop on your way by.

and then the plan was to go to the CBC and hook up with BeerPanther and polskapanda for a pint or two, then mosey on out to Worcester to hit Austin Liquors before closing time. Well, weather, shopping, end of weekend traffic and the Massachusetts DOT's predilection for not putting highway signs out until the last possible second conspired against us so that we had to, very reluctantly mind you, cut out the stop at the CBC with BP and PP. Hell.

After we escape the shoppers paradise that is Braintree, the wrath of God touches down on Boston. I've seen rainstorms in Seattle, I've seen rainstorms in Florida, I've seen rainstorms in Louisiana (I'm really getting this creepy-ass James Taylor-esque feeling right about now), but few of them have approached the ferocity and doggedness of this one. This is "Hey Noah, can I catch a ride?" kind of rain. I find out the next day that train track signals have been flooded out, all sorts of houses are trying to float away, that sort of thing. Again, I ask myself, "Why was it the Puritans stuck around?" Anyway, the end result of this is an extended period of clock watching where FirstMan and I are convinced that there's no fucking way we'll get to Austin on time (Sunday hours are 12-5 for those to you who are curious).

But no, what's this? We get into Worcester at 4:45! Holy crap, we may have time. Of course, it's all the way across town, and the entire highway system is either under construction or submerged under the tears of god. But we go screaming into the parking lot at 4:57, leap out of the car in a very Starsky & Hutch fashion, and run as fast for the door as my flip-flops will allow me (for the record that speed would be "Not Very Fast"). The Austin chick is turning the sign as we get there, but she unlocks the door and lets us in, and FirstMan beats a path to the beer aisle.

I have to say, I'm quite impressed. It appears to me that they have organized by style, rather than region. So all Belgian styles are together (meaning I can grab an Allagash Tripel, Ommegang Rare Vos and a Gouden Carolus from the same section), all German styles are together...you get the picture. And the selection is huge, with singles lining the aisle to the right, cases and half racks to the left. I'm assuming this store used to be a grocery of some sort, as it has all the atmosphere of the Prairie Market my mom used to take me to by the Crest Theatre in Shoreline (Prairie Market is now a bingo hall, and retains the same old school charm). The main difference between Austin Liquors and Prairie Market is that you don't have to write the prices on the hooch with a grease pencil. And Austin doesn't sell 'BEER'.

Our time here is short, almost painfully so. The selection is vast, and my space is horribly limited. I've already got bottles to take home from New Glarus, Snake River, Smuttynose, etc. so I need to make my choices wisely. I settle on an Allagash Tripel and an imperial stout and a barley wine that I cannot recall at the moment (and yes, I'm embarassed as hell by that). I find it to be incredibly badass that they have growlers in the cooler in the back, Paper City, Berkshire, etc. Actually, we had the Paper City Pilsner down the Cape on Saturday night, and I quite enjoyed it.

My only criticism of the store is this: The lighting is incredibly harsh, and I know from talking to FirstMan that he's gotten a fair number of bad bottles out of there. There are actually flourescent lights on the beer shelves at the top, and then there's the charming flourescent lighting thirty feet in the air on the ceiling of the store. Whatever you do, if you take a bottle off the top shelf, try and grab it from the back, and the same goes for their coolers. The lower shelves don't appear to be nearly as at risk.

If you're expecting the atmosphere of a bottle shop like Bottleworks in Seattle, you're going to be horribly disappointed. If you're expecting a huge ass store with a huge ass selection of top notch beers that are questionably stored, you're going to be thrilled. I was, and am envious of FirstMan's luck in finding this place. I don't have anything with near that selection that near to me in Bremerton.

Although I just left Worcester a couple of weeks ago, my many experiences at Austin's necessitate a Beerfly review. It is by far the best place in Worcester for purchasing beer--though that is not saying much. But still this is a quality store. Until recently, they held beer tastings on Fridays and Saturdays for such quality brews as Stone, DogFish Head, Ommegang and Unibroue, among others. Still do wine tastings on the weekends, but that is beyond the purview of this review.

Overall selection is usually excellent. There were a few times, when they seemed to be behind on ordering or receiving of products and there were quite a few holes on the shelves. But between the many fine selections of Belgians, local brews (in both sixers and growlers located in the back cooler), traditionally popular craft beers from out of region (good run of Stone, Bear Republic, Rogue, and Victory among others) and others from just about every global region, you can always find something worthwhile to purchase. While their prices aren't the best, there are a few staples that are more than reasonable for my tastes. (Hop Devil at $6.99 was a steal compared to most local places pricing at two-three dollars more.) And I always looked forward to the times when they placed slightly out of seasonals on clearance (summer sixers for $2 in October; Concord North Woods for $3.49 in January for example).

Service was usually very good. All employees are helpful and you could always find one or two very knowledgable about beer. Aaron who ran the tastings was extremely helpful and up on his beer styles and info. Worcester is not the easiest place to find good quality beer, but Austins is definitely a diamond in the rough!!

I just moved to Worcester from the Seattle area and have been itching to find a good place to get samples of the local brew.

Never did I imagine that Worcester would have a selection like this.

Austin has a great selection of foreign and domestic beer. Three or four shelves full of Belgians, more for Germans, Czech, you name it. I turned the corner, expecting to see a wall of Bud and was stunned. A great variety of locals on the shelf and in the coolers. I even noticed growlers of Berkshire brew in a case at the back. That I had never seen before.

The place is a little run-down from the outside as it is really the last place left in what was once a larger strip mall. That said, the selection of beer, wine, and all other exotic booze is excellent. Highly worth the trip.